A big shoutout to Adrian Chua, Amazon seller and founder of TradeDownCo, for his brutally honest LinkedIn post that perfectly summed up what many of us have quietly experienced or suspected over the past year.
After six months of actively listing and fulfilling orders on Temu Marketplace in the UK, Adrian and his team have just shipped their final units and are officially winding down operations there.
In his words:
“What started as a business punt to capitalise on customer traffic for a platform that could (potentially) dislodge Amazon’s position as the dominant marketplace has proven… futile.”
This isn’t just one seller’s bad luck – it’s a pattern I’ve now heard from dozens of UK and EU-based sellers who jumped on the Temu bandwagon in 2024, hoping for a second revenue stream.
The Core Challenges
- Chinese sellers have an insurmountable structural advantage Lower manufacturing costs, zero or subsidised international shipping, and the ability to play the long game on razor-thin (or negative) margins.
- Forced 25%+ discounting destroys any hope of profitability Temu’s algorithm may punish listings that don’t participate in perpetual sales events. Refuse to discount deeply enough? Your visibility disappears.
- Local sellers can’t compete on “free delivery” Unlike cross-border sellers who somehow ship a £4 gadget from Shenzhen to London for pennies (or free), UK sellers posting domestically still pay real Royal Mail or courier fees that eat the entire margin.
- Overcomplicated and ever-changing listing workflows. Hours spent trying to meet requirements that seem deliberately designed for factory-direct exporters, not established Amazon/EU brands.
- Compliance rules written by people who don’t understand local regulations VAT, packaging law, labelling – the goalposts move weekly and the guidance is often Google-translated nonsense.
- Zero pricing control Even when you set a discount, Temu can (and does) override it with additional coupons or flash-sale pricing that leaves the seller receiving pennies.
The Meal-Prep Container Reality Check
Adrian’s example is perfect in its simplicity:
- Same 10-pack meal prep containers
- Amazon UK: £14.99 (healthy margin for a UK seller)
- Temu UK: £4.30 (seller receives ~£3.44 before shipping)
Once you factor in pick & pack, domestic postage (£3–£4), returns, and Temu’s commission… you’re losing money on every sale.
This isn’t competition – it’s a race to zero that only factories shipping container loads directly from China can survive (and even many of them are reportedly struggling).
Is Anyone Actually Making Temu Work Profitably in the UK/EU?
Adrian openly asked the question many of us want answered:
“I’m curious if (and how?!) other local sellers make it work.”
From everything I’ve seen in masterminds, Slack groups, and private conversations in 2025 – the honest answer appears to be: almost nobody.
The few “success” stories you hear are usually:
- Chinese exporters using Temu as a customer-acquisition funnel for their own sites
- Arbitrage players who never touch the goods
- Brands treating Temu purely as a loss-leader for awareness (and even then, the ROI is questionable)
For legitimate UK/EU-based sellers with real overheads, employees, and compliance costs? It’s been a six-figure distraction at best, and a money-pit at worst.
Back to Amazon – Stronger and Wiser
Many sellers who diverted time, inventory, and mental bandwidth to Temu in 2024 are now laser-focused on Amazon again in 2025. We’ve returned with:
- Renewed appreciation for Amazon’s (relatively) predictable rules
- Better understanding of our true margins
- Zero illusions about “the next big marketplace” replacing Amazon anytime soon
Temu might still grow its customer base aggressively with bottomless subsidies, but for profitable, scalable selling in the UK and EU? Amazon remains unchallenged.
Huge respect to Adrian Chua at TradeDownCo for having the courage to experiment, measure honestly, and share the unfiltered truth publicly. These are the posts the community needs more of.
If you’re still on Temu as a local seller – ask yourself the hard question Adrian already answered: Is this building anything sustainable, or just burning cash and time?
